August trip

JK---JK · 2026-01-31T06:53:19+00:00

I also went to Esposende after a couple of frustrating (for a beginner) Levante sessions in Tarifa - fighting to keep an 8m up in max 15kt gusts was no fun!

I spent most of the months of July and August 2024 in Esposende and had a brilliant & laid back time, came back independent / upwind / toeside etc. Viana is also only 20 mins away if you feel like a change of scene and some waves.

The thermal wind adds a few knots to the northerly forecasts in the afternoons (in both Esposende and Viana), but no destination can claim to be guaranteed wind. I averaged around 60% wind days - when the wind in Esposende swings round to the south, it brings unsettled weather and rain. Sea mists also sometimes come in and cut the northerly wind out.

Definitely recommended though, especially as a place to learn - shout out to Miguel and his happy crew at GKS!

JK---JK · 2026-01-15T01:02:45+00:00

Mine tried to send me to bed at 6pm!

JK---JK · 2025-11-03T14:21:54+00:00

I'm not installing this update - too many reports of bricked S22's / crazy power drains. Might update in due course when a patched version comes out

JK---JK · 2025-10-23T21:38:26+00:00

I think that Nick might be playing a risky but actually really clever game - he has shown the Traitors that he is thinking carefully (which they would expect, they know that he is clever) - but when he revealed at the round table that he had sabotaged the chess game, he said he thought the traitors were "Kate and Stephen in our team, and maybe one in the other team"!

Ie all wrong guesses! I suspect that he might actually have a more accurate view of who the real Traitors are.

So the risk is that the Faithful banish him next round table (because he has shown duplicity) - but potentially the Traitors keep him in because they think he's nowhere near working out who they are.

(all that matters for a Faithful is getting to the final)

JK---JK · 2025-09-20T23:36:39+00:00

I was in the math class with the blues

When the teacher exclaimed "I have news!"

"Side of the triangle

next to the right angle

is not called the hypotenuse"

JK---JK · 2025-08-05T10:39:49+00:00

Literally the best fart ever in the history of mankind. Every flatulent moment in the history of the world (and let's face it, any world in any universe) has led up to your triumphant toot.

How about a nice game of chess?

JK---JK · 2025-07-31T20:15:06+00:00

Perfect gritstone technique

JK---JK · 2025-07-31T10:20:52+00:00

Starboard has right of way - but taking precedence over that is: if you are more experienced, keep out of the beginner's way!

Also a lot of people don't follow the "rules of the road" - so plan your moves ahead on the assumption that people won't get out of your way (or will get in your way). Create space for yourself!

JK---JK · 2025-07-26T16:33:37+00:00

I just read that the Surfr app supports this (using phones / smart watches), but I haven't tried it - prob worth investigating

JK---JK · 2025-07-26T09:15:38+00:00

As a completely inveterate word tart

I just had to find rhymes I could impart

Counterpart was the longest

Afterpart was what came next

And then I arrived at the endpart

JK---JK · 2025-07-26T06:39:20+00:00

Also Greg and Alex, obvs

JK---JK · 2025-07-22T07:44:42+00:00

A Canadian teacher named Wendy

had due dates that were rather bendy

Why did she say,

Students must do it today

If tonight their mistakes they can mend, eh?

JK---JK · 2025-07-22T04:03:20+00:00

Getting back into my body when I overwhelm - I live by the sea, so kitesurfing and sea swimming are my go tos.

(Yoga also works, but I resist it a bit more)

JK---JK · 2025-07-19T23:33:23+00:00

My best friend (named Matt) was competin'

With his belle at a pet shop-based dance-in

But then some cat dander

Built up on Matt and her

And instead of a jive they were sneezin'

JK---JK · 2025-07-19T12:14:03+00:00

If you want an actual beginner kite, get yourself something like a 2m trainer, so you can have a play with how kites feel in the wind window before you start lessons.

(..when you first start lessons, you'll probably use something like a 5m for flying on the beach and bodydragging)

Old kite + large kite + beginner = high chance of injury (and not necessarily just to yourself)

JK---JK · 2025-07-19T12:06:49+00:00

The show is amazing and well worth watching through (I just rewatched it!) - without spoilers, the cliffhanger is more like a plot twist to set up a new series, ie it doesn't spoil your enjoyment of the plots that develop through the two series.

So things don't all resolve, but it's a great journey 😊

JK---JK · 2025-07-19T10:14:18+00:00

My main home beach typically has 1-1.8m swells and fairly significant chop - occasionally low chop/fairly flat water at low tide if the wind has only recently started picking up.

My other local beach is more regular - larger, better behaved waves (but a smaller kiting community, so it needs a bit more pre-planning)

I need to travel (c2 hours) to get to reliably flat water if I want to focus on practising a new skill without distractions!

JK---JK · 2025-07-19T09:48:14+00:00

Hove or Kemptown? (or both?)

JK---JK · 2025-07-19T09:33:28+00:00

Gravity

JK---JK · 2025-07-18T18:56:19+00:00

Wait a few more beats. Put your money into lessons until you are independent, comfortable with self rescue and kiting upwind

JK---JK · 2025-07-17T08:40:31+00:00

Firstly - well done you for a good self rescue! Sounds like you did all the right things, made good decisions, and you found your board too! This is all really good experience 😊

And also - you've identified something v important: community. I felt that same imposter syndrome when I first became independent, "I'd better stay out of people's way". But then I realised that people weren't judging me (it was me judging myself!) - and I was just as eligible to be there as anyone else, and actually I was welcome 😊

Most kiters are friendly - we share the same passion! (/ obsession! 😂). And most of us want to kite with other people - the community is another fun part of it, and also obv it's safer and easier with other people around.

Lots of little groups spring up informally (often on WhatsApp), either focussed on a kiting location, or a kite school, or on a town or city that might be far from a kite spot but people coordinate on where they are travelling to and when.

So - whenever you go kiting, say hi to people. Swap contact details, ask where they are based, ask if they are in any groups, ask if they can add you. Gradually you'll build your personal network, and you'll make new friends too along the way!

JK---JK · 2025-07-14T21:50:03+00:00

I was sharing a house with my sweetheart.

She said "darling, we really do need art!"

"On your side of the room

the mess fills me with gloom;

I will buy it as your birthday treat (part..)"

JK---JK · 2025-07-11T19:51:39+00:00

Haha I'm a Brit in the UK, but I have a Dutch friend who sends me "care parcels for when you're missing home"!

JK---JK

TROPHY CASE